camerapediafandomcom-20200215-history
Pearl (I), II and III
}} The name Pearl was given by Konishiroku (the later Konica) to many models of rollfilm folders. This article deals with the Pearl (I), II and III made from 1949 in 4.5×6cm format, successors of the Semi Pearl. These were replaced in 1958 by the ephemeral Pearl IV, which has a completely different construction. Other articles deal with the early models for plates and rollfilm, the Pearl No.2, self-erecting 6×9 Pearl, and the Baby Pearl and Pearlette cameras (both using 127 film). Operation All these Pearl models share a design quirk that is likely to confuse somebody who is moderately accustomed to other folders but is new to any in this particular line. What would seem to be the shutter-release button at the top of the body and the door-opening button at the top of the door are in fact the reverse of what they seem: the photographer opens the door with the button on the top plate or top housing, and releases the shutter with the button on the opened door. Pearl and Pearl RS, with uncoupled rangefinder The Pearl (in retrospect Pearl I, first half of 1949 Miyazaki, p.183, says March 1949, while Tanimura, "Pāru II", says April 1949. , p.358, says that the Pearl was tested in the August 1949 issues of and Kōga Gekkan. ) has the same basic body as the Semi Pearl, with a top housing (simply inscribed "Pearl") for a viewfinder and an uncoupled rangefinder. The rangefinder is set by a knob above the top housing, and the distance read must be transfered by the user to the distance scale of the lens. Film advance is still by key. The back has only one red window and is similar to the last examples of the Semi Pearl. The camera retains the combination of a coated Hexar 75mm f/4.5 lens and a Durax shutter (1–100, B, T) found on the Semi Pearl. There is still no flash synchronization.Tanaka, "Nihon no supuringu-kamera: Konishiroku", p.60. For this and subsequent models: Konika-Minoruta-ten, p.8. Presumably "Semi" was dropped from the name in view of the unlikeliness of a revival of any 6×9 folder (the prewar 6×9 Pearl had been rather unusual among Japanese cameras even when new, and even a modernized successor would probably have struck most photographers in 1949 as a bulky extravagance); the disappearance of the Baby Pearl may have been another factor. The Pearl RS (in retrospect Pearl I RS, but also simply inscribed "Pearl"; late 1950 Tanimura, "Pāru II", and Miyazaki, p.128, both say October 1950. , p.358, says that the Pearl RS and Pearl II are mentioned together in the November 1950 issue of Asahi Camera. The earliest advertisement is dated January 1951. ) has a Konirapid-S shutter (B, 1–500) with Kodak-type flash synchronization. An accessory shoe is added at the top right of the camera (as seen by a photographer holding it horizontally), the back latch is modified and the strap has disappeared.Tanaka, "Nihon no supuringu-kamera: Konishiroku", pp.60–1; Uchida, "Hekisā 75mm no shikaku. The price in 1951 was . Advertisement for the Pearl RS and Pearl II published in the January 1951 issue of Camera Fan, reproduced in , p.160. Pearl II and IIB, with coupled rangefinder The Pearl II was released together with the Pearl RS and maybe sold a little after; Miyazaki, p.128, says that the Pearl II and Pearl RS were released in October 1950, but gives January 1951 for the Pearl II on p.183. , p.358, says that the Pearl RS and Pearl II were mentioned together in the November 1950 issue of . The earliest advertisement is dated January 1951. It is reproduced in , p.160, and shows a price for the Pearl RS but not for the Pearl II. Uchida, "Konpakuto na Pāru RS", says that the Pearl II was released in 1951, the year after the Pearl RS. it is the same camera with a coupled rangefinder and inscribed Pearl II on the top housing. The focusing tab is modified and the focusing scale has disappeared from the front assembly. It is replaced by a rotating disc that shows the distance against a simple depth-of-field scale, placed under a window in the top housing, where the uncoupled model has a focusing knob for the rangefinder. In 1952 Miyazaki, p.183, says April 1952. , p.358, says that the f/3.5 lens is first advertised in the November 1952 issue of Asahi Camera. an f/3.5 Hexar option ( ) was added to the standard f/4.5 Hexar ( ). With the f/4.5 lens, the camera's dimensions open are 120×100×92mm (43mm closed); it weighs 580g. Tanaka, "Nihon no supuringu-kamera: Konishiroku", pp.60–61; Tanimura, "Pāru II." In response to increasing competition from 35mm cameras, the Pearl IIB (still engraved Pearl II) was released in mid-1955 Miyazaki, p.183, says April 1955. , p.358, says that the Pearl IIB was reviewed in the issues dated July or August 1955 of many Japanese magazines. The first advertisements are dated August 1955. as a cheaper ( ) alternative to the II ( ). It retains the f/3.5 Hexar lens but the shutter is a Durax-S (top speed 1/400) and the focusing scale is back to the front assembly. There is still a depth-of-field scale above the top housing, but it must be turned manually. The Pearl IIB has one innovation: a PC rather than Kodak flash terminal.Tanaka, "Nihon no supuringu-kamera: Konishiroku", pp.60–61. (At least one example of the Pearl II has been observed with this feature.) Pearl III, with auto-stop advance The Pearl III (late 1955 Miyazaki, p.183, says December 1955. , p.395, says that the first mention in Japanese magazines was in January 1951 issues. , inscribed Pearl III above the top housing) adds "semi-automatic" (auto-stop) film advance: once the "start" line on the backup paper is lined up with a dot on the film rail, the camera calculates how far the photographer may wind the film before each exposure. The red window accordingly disappears from the film back. An advance knob replaces the advance key of the previous models, it contains a manually reset exposure counter. The auto-stop mechanism was designed by Nakagawa Kenzō and supplied to Konishiroku by his company Aram Kōgaku, at a pace of 2,000 units per month. , p.76; Yazawa, p.13 of no.254. The Pearl III also substitutes a film-reminder dial (color, panchromatic, etc., as well as speed) for the distance and depth-of-field dial of the II. It retains the Konirapid S shutter of the II but has the PC flash terminal of the IIB. The lens is the Hexar f/3.5, except for a few examples said to be fitted with a three-element Konitor lens, certainly the same 75mm f/3.5 as on the Aram Six. The focusing ring is fitted with a concave tab and a depth-of-field scale. Miyazaki, Konika kamera no 50nen, p.129 (the source for examples with Konitor lenses); Tanaka, "Nihon no supuringu-kamera: Konishiroku", p.61. All Konitor lenses have three elements, see Yazawa in no.254. There are two later variants, which are also simply inscribed Pearl III and must be distinguished by looking at the lens. The Pearl IIIMX (1956 , p.395, says that it was featured in the new products column of the May 1956 issue of Camera Mainichi. ) replaces the Konirapid S with a Seikosha-MX shutter. This adds X synchronization for electronic flash, becoming popular at around this time. In a time of increased competition in the industry, companies such as Konishiroku that had previously produced shutters for their own cameras found it more economical to buy them in from either Seikosha or Copal.Tanaka, "Nihon no supuringu-kamera: Konishiroku", p.61. The Hexar lens on this model has a seven-digit serial number and is said to be an improved model (maybe recomputed). Miyazaki, p.131. The Pearl IIIL (1957 , p.395, says that it was featured in the new products column of the June 1957 issue of Nippon Camera. ) has two further innovations: a Seikosha-MXL shutter, using the light-value system, and a new amber coating for the lens.Miyazaki, Konika kamera no 50nen, p.129; Tanaka, "Nihon no supuringu-kamera: Konishiroku", p.61. When closed, the IIIL has the same dimensions as the II, and weighs 600g.Kawamata, p.98. The Pearl III was succeeded in December 1958 by the Pearl IV, which is a radical redesign of the original concept. Notes Sources and further reading * Items 676–9 and 1440–42. (See also the picture on p.20.) * Iwama Tomohisa (岩間倶久). Atarashii Pāru no tsukaikata (新しいパールの使い方). Tokyo: Amico, 1956. * Kawamata Masataku (川又正卓). "Konishiroku Pāru III" (小西六パールIII, Konishiroku Pearl III). Supuringu kamera de ikō: Zen 69 kishu no tsukaikata to jissha sakurei (スプリングカメラでいこう: 全69機種の使い方と実写作例, Let's try spring cameras: The use of and actual examples from 69 machines). Tokyo: Shashinkogyo Syuppan-sha, 2004. ISBN 4879560723 Pp.98–9. About the Pearl IIIL. * Konika-Minoruta-ten (コニカミノルタ展, Konica Minolta exhibition). Exhibition catalogue. Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 2005. * * Pp.67–8, 74 and 92. * P.544. * Miki Akira (三木旺). Pāru no tsukaikata (パールの使い方). Tokyo: Amico. * Miyazaki Shigemoto (宮崎繁幹). Konika kamera no 50nen: Konika I-gata kara Hekisā RF e (コニカカメラの50年：コニカI型からヘキサーRFへ, Fifty years of Konica cameras: From the Konica I to the Hexar RF). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 2003. ISBN 4-257-12038-X. * Omoide no supuringu-kamera-ten (思い出のスプリングカメラ展, Exhibition of beloved self-erecting cameras). Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 1992. (Exhibition catalogue, no ISBN number.) P.18. * P.76. * Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). "Nihon no supuringu-kamera: Konishiroku" (日本のスプリングカメラ Konishiroku, The spring cameras of Japan: Konishiroku). Pp.58–61. * Tanimura Yoshihiko (谷村吉彦). "Dentō aru kyorikei-rendō semi-han supuringu kamera Pāru II" (伝統ある距離計連動セミ判スプリングカメラ：パールII, A coupled-rangefinder 4.5×6 spring camera with tradition: The Pearl II). P.63. * Uchida Yasuo (内田康男). "Hekisā 75mm no shikaku ni osamatta sangaku-shashin: Konpakuto na Pāru RS" (ヘキサー75mmの視角に収まった山岳写真: コンパクトなパールRS, Mountain photography from the perspective of a 75mm Hexar: The compact Pearl RS). Pp.32–5. * Yazawa Seiichirō (矢沢征一郎). "Renzu no hanashi (164) Konitā" (レンズの話164コニター, Lens story 164 Konitor). In no.254 (August 1998). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.13–6. (On the outsourcing of the auto-stop mechanism of the Pearl III to Aram.) Links In English: * Pearl RS & II by Anthony, at his photo website * Pearl IIB at The Classic Camera * Pearl II and IIB, lots no.655–6 of auction no.6 (6 November 2004) by Westlicht Photographica Auction In Japanese: * Pearl I and Pearl II in the official Konica Minolta camera history site (copied in this page and this page of the Kitamura Camera Museum) * Pearl I in the Zeppan Tōsan photo site (incorporating this photograph). If the link does not work, go to the main site, follow the link marked "武器庫" in the page menu, and search for "パールI" in the left menu * Restoration of a Pearl I at ME Fukkatsu Ōjō * Pearl RS at Nagoya's Camera Club * Restoration of a Pearl RS at Kan's Room * Pearl II in the Damono Suki blog * Pearl II at Bon's Homepage * Pearl II and III within a Konishiroku page at Yume o hakobu shashinki * Pearl II at Doraku Oyaji no Kamera Koheya * Pearl II in a page of classic cameras at Kimata Photo Studio * Restoration of a Pearl II, restoration and sample photos from a Pearl III at Shiroto shashinki shūri kōbō * Pearl family, with pictures of the Pearl IIB and III, at The Classic Camera * Pearl III at Gacha's Box * Pearl III in the first page of the Yamada Camera Museum Category: Japanese 4.5x6 rangefinder folding Category: Konica Category: P